Garage doors and the like are not easily weatherstripped. They are made in many different styles and usually have large opening gaps at their juncture with the door jamb structure. Ideally, a weatherstripping must not be in contact with the door while the latter is in motion to preclude inhibiting the translation of the door as well as accelerating wear of the weatherstripping. However, once the door reaches its closed position, an effective weather seal should have been established. In practice, stationary vertical side weatherstripping is used. One grouping capitalizes on strip flexibility to maintain a degree of weather proofing while attempting to minimize induced door drag forces and resulting weather seal wear. Another more common group incorporates an inclined door roller guide track such that the door moves laterally against the stationary vertical weather seal as well as vertically during closure operations. The motion sequence is reversed during the subsequent opening of the door. The ideal weather sealing conditions described above are difficult or practically impossible to achieve through such wedging action. In many cases, sustained operations further aggravate the situation necessitating periodic door adjustments. In any event, undesirable frictional forces at the strip/door interface are generated during the initial motion of the door when opening as well as closing. In order to use this "wedging" approach to weather sealing, the door's side mounted guide rollers must be mounted with lateral offsets in a manner increasing in magnitude from the bottom of the top of the door. Consequently, door designs that prohibit such roller offsetting cannot utilize the "wedging" approach to the sealing of vertical side junctures of door and jamb.
This invention overcomes such deficiencies of available vertical weatherstripping means by providing a practical sealing system that is moveable, remaining fully retracted until door closure is achieved. Upon completion of door closure motion, the moveable weatherstrip, promptly accelerates, thrusting against the face of the closed door. A positive pressure seal is consistently achieved. The door may move into its final closed configuration either vertically or at some angle. The door face need not be in one plane as long as the weatherstrip is formed to the same geometry such that upon extending upon the door face, no gaps remain.
No frictional drag forces or wear of the contacting weatherstrip surface occurs as there is never any relative motion between the door and the weather strip while these elements are in contact. My weatherstripping system relates to essentially all known industrial as well as residential overhead door systems. It can also be applied to laterally operating closure systems as gravity is not a prerequisite operating force component. Similarly, it can be used to provide a non-motion interferring positive weather seal on all edges of a door panel, including the bottom where the system may be recessed into the door if threshhold obstructions cannot be tolerated. My weatherstrip system can be readily applied to existing installed door systems as well as currently with new systems.
A preferred embodiment of the outward thrusting weatherstrip system of the invention comprises such devices as used to weather seal the vertical opening between the door jamb and the side edges of an overhead residential garage door system.